United ArtistsPierce Brosnan’s tenure as 007 is a funny thing. In so many ways, it feels like he was born to play James Bond: he was offered the role more than once throughout his career, and once the stars did finally align, he slipped into Bond’s shoes with all the suavity that the character deserves. It’s the films themselves that let the actor down. In hindsight, Brosnan admits to feeling “caught in a time warp” between Sean Connery’s iconic, defining performance as Bond and the sillier stylings of Roger Moore. You can see that dissonance in each Brosnan-Bond film: while he’s playing every beat completely straight, his adventures are almost unbearably silly by contrast. That his time as Bond culminated with what many regard as the most ridiculous film in the franchise’s history, Die Another Day, only sinks his reputation further. But things didn’t start off on such an unserious note. Before the diminishing returns of Die Another Day, there was GoldenEye, a franchise reboot that teased a much more promising future. A perfect balance between the gruffer side of 007 and its heightened gags, GoldenEye should have been the blueprint for Bond’s new era. It borrows from the grounded tone of the Timothy Dalton era — probably because, before Brosnan took on the role, it was meant to be Dalton’s third and final film — without sacrificing any campier elements. GoldenEye’s main antagonist is the archetypal post-modern villain, a mirror image of our hero who also served in MI6 before growing disillusioned with the institution. But the film also throws in a few textbook Bond villains, like Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen), a femme fatale who gets off by crushing men between her legs. What’s great about Brosnan’s Bond is that he treats each threat with the same grave, steely severity. Unlike Moore, nothing is a joke to him. Brosnan reportedly struggled to set himself apart from the Bonds that came before, but his willingness to take everything seriously goes a long way in establishing a true identity.Brosnan is a much-needed anchor for a film that’s actively fighting the tide. GoldenEye has a lot on its mind, a streak of self-awareness that separates Old Bond from the new. Released in 1995, this is the first Bond movie to follow the end of the Cold War, the conflict that defined this saga for decades. Its shadow still looms large over GoldenEye — it’s still all about evil Soviets and nuclear fallout — but director Martin Campbell also wants to tackle that in a fresh way. GoldenEye wanted to steer the Bond franchise in a fresh direction, and nearly got the chance. | United ArtistsThere’s a lot more nuance in the relationship between Western and Eastern Europe here, not only because both Bond girls are Russian. Its political subplots aren’t the easiest to follow, especially 30 years removed from its original context. GoldenEye takes its time unraveling its conspiracy, even the role that the burgeoning Internet plays in it. There’s a world in which you can coast by watching only the stunts (which really are amazing, even by modern standards) or titilating encounters with Xenia or Natalya Simonova (Izabella Scorupco), Bond’s other love interest. But GoldenEye only really works if you’re paying attention to every development. It’s a thinking Bond movie, but it rewards its audience with a great climax.GoldenEye is also a touch more critical of Bond and his cavalier, womanizing ways. This is the film that appoints a new M — the first female M in Bond’s history, Judi Dench. This is also the film that, famously, sees M calling Bond “a sexist, misogynist dinosaur” in her introductory scene. The message is loud and clear: this is not your dad’s Bond. It’s a promising shift, if only the films that followed actually followed in its footsteps. The franchise would revert hard after GoldenEye, delivering four films that feel almost inextricable from the Roger Moore era. Creating real, permanent change for the Bond saga required much more time and effort. Campbell would get another crack at it 10 years later with Casino Royale, but by then, Brosnan’s time was up. It’s a shame that he never got to helm the kind of franchise that was more his speed, especially as you can see the foundations of Craig’s more grounded, self-aware era established in GoldenEye. 30 years on, it feels like the biggest missed opportunity: it could have kick-started the new age of Bond in earnest, had the powers that be bought into its novelty.GoldenEye is streaming on Prime Video.